(WWB) Persuasive Writing Lesson

In persuasive writing you must choose a position and make a thesis statement with supporting arguments about your choice. You must also consider and refute alternative arguments, and prove to the undecided reader that the choice you present is the best one. You must be aware of other sides and be fair to them; dismissing them completely will weaken your own argument.

It is always best to take a position that you believe in, preferably with the most supporting evidence. However it can often be educational to adopt a different position from what you might normally choose (debating requires this kind of flexibility).

When writing to persuade someone to change his or her mind about an issue, the writer presents arguments to support his/her thesis statement. These arguments need to be backed up with evidence.

You may have already spent time looking at thesis statements, arguments and the supporting evidence for a few different topics. The following section will review the basics about thesis statements.

Persuasive or Argumentative Essays

In persuasive or argumentative writing, we try to convince others:

• to agree with our facts, share our values,
• accept our argument and conclusions,
• and adopt our way of thinking.

Elements Toward Building a Good Persuasive Essay Include

1. establishing facts to support an argument
2. clarifying relevant values for your audience (perspective)
3. prioritizing, editing, and/or sequencing the facts and values in importance to build the argument
4. forming and stating conclusions
5. "persuading" your audience that your conclusions are based upon the agreed-upon facts and shared values
6. having the confidence to communicate your "persuasion" in writing.

The Thesis Statement

What is a thesis statement?

Your thesis statement tells what you believe and what you intend to prove. It reflects what you have learned and concluded during your research. It focuses your paper (project) and provides the reader with a map to your work. It lets the reader know how you feel about your topic and what information you will be presenting to support your point of view. Take a look at the examples below.

Examples:

This is a fact - not a thesis.

The Roman Colosseum is in Rome, Italy.

This is a thesis - the writer has expressed an opinion and will support her opinion with the facts and opinions of other experts.

The Roman Colosseum played an important role in social and political events of ancient Rome.

This is a fact - not a thesis.

Alexander the Great was a great general.

This is a thesis - the writer has expressed an opinion and will support her opinion with the facts and opinions of other experts.

The hardships Alexander the Great faced in his early life helped to prepare him for his role as a great general.

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